


In Locomotion

by subconforest



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 10:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19003525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subconforest/pseuds/subconforest
Summary: In order to get his Death Wish plans off the ground, the Snatcher is going to need the Conductor to make his dreams a reality. It’s more difficult than he bargained for.





	In Locomotion

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly enjoyed writing out the Conductor and Snatcher's interactions in my last fic, so I wanted to make another including them (and to also try and get a better feel for their dynamic for future fics). That, and it's not clear how Death Wish works, so it's my city now.

“Hellooooo there!” Snatcher waves to the bird that’s driving the train. He seems more annoyed than startled. “Nice place you got here! Can’t tell what sort of thing you were going with this, but I digress.” He clasps his hands together, grinning more than usual. “Listen, I vaguely know of you, you might’ve heard of me, so let’s talk!”

Now, Snatcher’s not normally the type to come barging in and asking for their cooperation—trapping them in by force is more his style—but considering everyone he needs won’t set foot in his forest any time soon, he has to improvise.

The Conductor looks over his shoulder, and then immediately turns back to his work. “Those good fer nothin’ owls were supposed to keep people from coming in while I’m working. Look, I have no idea who ye could possibly be, so it can’t be that important.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate, because I know _all_ about you!”

“Wish ye didn’t,” he mumbles. “Guess that’s what happens when ye run the only train on the planet, so I’m nae surprised.”

“You run a train? How interesting! I thought this was all just for show—”

 _“Can’t ye see I’m busy here?”_ Putting the train on autopilot for the time being, the Conductor swivels his chair, face to face with the sudden intruder on his train. He crosses his arms, visibly annoyed. Most who encounter him tend to fear his appearance and unsettling voice, but not this guy, apparently. “If all yer goin’ to do is make idle chit chat, then get out!”

“I won’t be long,” Snatcher says, making his way over to the other. “I just have a deal for you.” He probably should’ve started with that off the bat with him. The kid _did_ say that he has a temper.

“What? That’s all?” The bird’s not impressed. “I never asked fer one, so I’m not interested. Get off me train.”

Okay! Maybe this will be a bit more difficult than he thought. “Not even willing to hear me out?”

“Yer as suspicious as they come. I got nae reason to trust ye.” The Conductor sighs, turning his chair back to the control panel. “Go on, be on yer way now.”

Unfortunately for the Conductor, it’s going to take a lot more than a rejection to get Snatcher out of his way. He _needs_ this guy to make this Death Wish plan a reality, and he’s _not_ going to leave without his soul. “I don’t think you understand,” the ghost says. Grabbing the back of the Conductor’s chair, forcing it to a stop after a few rotations. “I wasn’t giving you the option of saying _no_ to me.”

The bird huffs, trying to drive off the dizziness he just experienced. “If ye aren’t outta here in the next few seconds, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Snatcher picks the other up by the neck of his collar, hoisting him up so they’re seeing eye to eye. “What can you _possibly—_ ”

Perhaps he should’ve seen this coming. Provoke a wild animal enough, and it’ll bare its teeth. In this case, the “wild animal” is a bright yellow bird, and the teeth is his knife that’s sticking out of Snatcher. He feels absolutely nothing from the knife itself, but he does feel overwhelming satisfaction seeing the Conductor’s smug look change to that of shock.

He’s not going anywhere unless he does what Snatcher tells him to.

“Are you done?” With his free hand, he pulls the knife out, tossing it over his shoulder. “I’m very surprised you couldn’t tell that I can’t be hurt that easily, but I guess I overestimated you. Sorry about that!”

“Ugh.” The Conductor is resigned to his fate. “Tell me what ye want since yer _insisting_ on it, peck neck.”

That’s the closest Snatcher is going to get to a ‘you beat me,’ which isn’t as satisfying as it could be, but he’ll take it. It’s been fun knocking him down a few pegs regardless! He drops the bird on the ground. “Now that I finally have your undivided attention,” he says, “I can bring _this_ out!”

Behold, one of Snatcher’s signature contracts, with a pen to match! “Since you’ve been _so_ difficult, I’m almost tempted to just take your soul right here and now! But I’ll be nice since I need every part of you for this.”

“I work in entertainment,” the Conductor says, “I don’t have a soul.”

“You would think, but no, you fortunately have one. I checked!”

“How the peck—”

The Snatcher puts a hand on the other’s shoulder, who slaps it off immediately. “How I go about my business isn’t your concern. I’d be more worried about reading the terms and conditions of what you’re agreeing to if I were you.”

“I can’t read if ye can’t be quiet,” he grumbles, grabbing the piece of paper and skimming through the document. After getting halfway through, he looks up. “What, so ye need me to do yer dirty work? And fer what?”

“Not exactly. Keep reading.”

It’s hard to convince someone to thoroughly read through a legal document if they don’t want to. Snatcher knows from experience about those types—they go through it as fast as possible, only pay attention to what benefits them, get the transaction over with, and don’t realize how badly they’ve been screwed over in the process. Suffice to say, they’re his favorite kinds of people to make a deal with, and the Conductor seems to fit that category perfectly.

His face lights up. “Award 42?” He sounds almost in disbelief. “How would ye…?”

Snatcher smiles. “I have my ways.”

To be fair, it’s not too hard for him to figure out what a person’s deepest desires are—that, and the very kid that he’s trying to torment _really_ thinks the conversations she has with him are purely banter. She’s been enlightening him about the very adventures he wants to twist around for his own gain, hoping to finally get the revenge he’s been seeking from her all this time. Promising the Mafia Boss a body, promising Mustache Girl he’ll rid her island of the Mafia, and what did he plan on promising the Conductor?

_Award 42._

It’s all he could talk about when he was attempting to kill Hat Kid, according to her. Snatcher figured he’d be able to reignite the Conductor’s murderous rage with _that_ particular carrot dangling in front of him. Luckily, the wording is vague enough that he can get away with only partially fulfilling his end of the deal. Once all is said and done, he’s going to hand off the award to him, and nothing else. No fanfare. No change in the actual history of the awards. He’ll have the award, just like he promised, but it won’t truly be his to claim.

With the Conductor the way that he is, Snatcher anticipates the fallout to be catastrophic. He’ll take care of it when the time comes.

“Yer not kidding? Ye really mean it?”

“Sure do!” Snatcher nods, his grin only growing the more he speaks. “It’s as it says. Sign your body and soul away to me to use for the time being, and I’ll give you an award for your troubles, no strings attached. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!”

The Conductor already has the pen in hand, but he stops short of putting it to the paper. He looks up at the Snatcher. “Who’s going to take care of me train, then?”

“Don’t worry yourself about that,” he says. He has no real plans for that part, he’ll probably try and get a minion to make sure it doesn’t crash or something like that. “It says that in the contract, doesn’t it? If the train is destroyed in any way in your absence, the deal’s off! It’s pretty simple.”

He hesitates. The pen’s in his hand, he’s looking at the document, and to be perfectly honest, it’s not clear what the Conductor is going to do. There’s something he finds fascinating about how unpredictable this man can be—at least that’s _something_ he can use to his advantage while he technically owns the rights to him.

“So, what’s it gonna be?”

“What, sign or let ye kill me? Yer not giving me much of an option!”

“Then why the hesitation?”

“It’s.” The Conductor pauses. He’s trying to search for something, but he’s at a loss. It’s not something he wants to put into words, but Snatcher’s all too familiar with it: no longer being in control. Inhaling sharply after some silence, he says, “It’s nothing.”

Without ceremony, he signs it, the contract disappearing before his eyes before he’s gotten the chance to fully take in what he’s done. “Hey, don’t be so glum, chum!” Snatcher cheerfully sings out. “You’re getting Award 42 at the end of all of this! Don’t forget!”

“Aye, how can I?” Taking his hat off, his runs his hand through the feathers that sit atop his head. “Look, I know ye need me, but I can’t go along with it just yet.”

“I know,” Snatcher replies. “I still need to make arrangements with your future coworker! Pretty sure you know him.”

“My…” It dawns on him. _“Ye didn’t—!!”_

“Oops! Looks like I’m needed elsewhere!” He didn’t actually have anywhere else to be, but he’s not exactly looking to get stabbed again. “Smell ya later!”

As he was leaving, he could still hear bits and pieces of the fit the Conductor started to throw. Sitting back in his chair at home, Snatcher can _finally_ relax! At least, that’s what he wants to do. All he can think about at the moment is how much of a pain it’s going to be to have to be around that piece of work. Maybe he can get him and DJ Grooves to cooperate if they’re able to hurt each other too? Heck if he knows!

He better not be going through all of this trouble just to have the kid live through it all. That would be the _worst_. Oh well, he’ll meet that situation ~~when~~ _if_ he comes to it.


End file.
